Nutrient Dense food--Lew's thoughts

Here's an excerpt from our Spring 2010 Newsletter where Lew opines (in his charmingly long-winded fashion) on nutrient dense food.  (If you're interested in the whole Newsletter--which practically requires binding!--feel free to email us at yourfarmers@millersorchard.com.)

Nutrient Dense??? Who Cares???

If you’ve read the earlier part of this Newsletter, or ever talked to me in person, then you have probably already heard about “nutrient dense.” Besides being a clever marketing catch-phrase, it is a concept—No, a GOAL—that we are striving for in all our products. Before I stress the importance of “nutrient dense,” let me say a few words about “certified organic.” Several years ago our family had our collective eye on USDA Organic certification. Yet I was never quite satisfied with the requirements entailed in organic certification. Not only do the standards for certification vary depending on the certification agency, but I began to be concerned about the concentration on “the process” not on the end-product. Now let me interrupt myself immediately to say that I am not against organic certification or the processes that organic farmers use. I know several fine farmers who grow organic, and if I didn’t grow my food on our farm, I would buy theirs. I’d buy their produce not because some agency certified them as organic, but rather because those farmers produce a tasty, healthy product. Here’s the bottom line: in my humble opinion, it is the results obtained, not necessarily the process employed, that matters most. While I think that many organic farms may also be focused on results, I am more concerned that “certified organic” has become just another way for farmers to “add value” and raise prices on their goods. Again, “certified organic” is not always a gimmick, but for some farmers it can be more about price than the result. And organic also does not mean small or local. Allow me one last tangent to insist on the importance of knowing your farmer whenever possible. Know your farmer to confirm that his/her priorities agree with yours.


Now, let’s focus on “nutrient dense” and the central place this concept has taken in the Miller’s farming paradigm. The “nutrient dense” strategy focuses on the inherent healthiness of the end product—not just the means. Why focus on the end product? Because if the end product is filled with nutrients, then the methods used to produce it must have been good for the land. Nutrient-depleted soil cannot produce a “nutrient dense” vegetable or support a “nutrient-dense” grazing animal. For example, consider our Broilers. Over the years, we have lost some potential sales on our Broilers because they were not “certified organic.” If you are one of those folks, let me first say that there are no hard feelings. In fact, I admire your commitment to the organic movement. But I do believe the taste and nutrient-content of any one of our pastured Broilers would surpass the average “certified organic” confinement-raised organic chicken. Here’s why: by focusing on the “end product” not just “the process,” we expose our Broilers to constant fresh air, sunlight and room to stretch their wings. There is no doubt in my mind that our “process” is more “natural” for any bird than the organic confinement methods currently used for “certified organic” chickens; and a more “natural” process means our Broilers are healthier birds and result in a healthier meal on your table.


To be fair, a lot of us small growers have gotten caught up in our own “process-driven” methods; we throw our animals out onto some grass and immediately think we’ve ensured a healthier product for the consumer. We just as easily begin to idolize “the process” and take our eyes off the more important goal of producing a superior product. But at Miller’s we are striving to focus on a “nutrient dense” end-product. In doing so, we are constantly adjusting “the process” so that it produces the best possible fruit, vegetable, meat or grain with the most nutrients available.


Modern farming methods are not known for their “nutrient dense” focus. Scientists have known for decades that our food is nutrient deficient. Flour, milk and even salt are fortified with separate nutrients (like Vitamin D, calcium and iodine) because these nutrients no longer naturally occur at sufficient levels in our food. Our food lacks these nutrients because the soil they’re produced on lacks them. Over the last century, the American agricultural system has turned farmers into miners, taking out the last remaining nutrients in the soil without returning anything back to it. I don’t believe this is what God intended farming to be. We are to cultivate the land, care for it, shepherd it, protect it, improve it, and yes profit from it. But long-term profit (and I mean generations-long profit) can only be obtained when we return nutrients to the soil so that it has the ability to produce good food for decades to come. This is a multi-generational commitment so that my grandchildren and their grandchildren can farm this land and confidently expect a crop each year—a “nutrient-dense,” life-giving crop.


Perhaps you, like I, have seen the articles that predict a worldwide food shortage in the next 20 to 25 years. This is rubbish. Friends, we have barely begun to scratch the surface of excellent farming techniques. I assure you, that by holding nutrients in high regard, and by diligently returning nutrients to our soil, we can continue to raise quality food with all the nutrients necessary for a quality life. There’s no need to run out of food—we just need to keep our eyes on the goal of “nutrient-dense” food. If we ensure the health of the soil, the resulting quality and quantity of our food supply will be seemingly infinite.

And we're off!

Only 22 days behind in re-launching the "your farmers" blog for 2010--but who's counting? And, yes, there’s been a minor blog address change. But at long last, we’re back! Welcome to all newcomers (that means basically all of you!) young and old, redneck and suburban, hippie and yuppie! This is the virtual home of random musings and sundry miscellania from the farmers at Miller's Orchards.


So who are we?

Well, we're a dirt-under-our-nails family of farmers in Northeast PA (though a few of us have some nice-looking heels in our closets!!!) Wally & Robin are the patriarch and matriarch, respectively, of this agricultural empire. Son Lewis and his wife Amber and their children Lena Mae and XXX (yet to be born) live and work with Wally & Robin on the farm. Daughters Denae and Delana (your blogger truly) have cycled on and off the farm in full-time and part-time capacities over the last decade. Of course, we can't forget Grandma and Grandpa--the Miller's Orchards collective Godfather. Grandpa is still spry and active on the farm nearly every day, and Grandma makes sure to supervise every now and again.

Life on the farm follows the rhythms of the seasons, sometimes cool and calm, sometimes humidly chaotic. But like a stable-full of hard-working mules, the farmers at Miller's Orchards have managed to thrive for seven generations and counting! Over the decades the farm has weathered droughts and floods, bumper crops and crop destruction. It was a source of food and work for many a man during the Great Depression and the place where quite a few school children plucked their Fall pumpkin from a hilly field.

The farm has also seen quite a few drastic changes more recently. In the past six or seven years Lew and Wally have begun to return the farm to gentler, sustainable agricultural techniques. With a focus on soil health and biodiversity, Miller's Orchards has become part of a national (nay, international) movement to cultivate nutrient dense food that heals the earth and provides true nutrition to our customers.

What do we actually do on the farm?

Well, our stable of products has experienced quite an evolution over the years as we continue to experiment the crops/animals best suited for our physical environment, our local market and our own interests and abilities.  For 2010 we're growing strawberries and asparagus, apples, pumpkins and squash and more. We raise chickens (for meat and eggs), pigs and soon beef cattle. We also grow grain that we use to feed our animals. We bake pies and breads, make sauces and soups and jellies and jams... We host field days during which we invite you--the customer--to our farm to see how it really works. We even build some of our own technology (Lew is an amateur machinist). And we also create some of our own fun. We've got a corn maze and hayrides in the Fall, and we've been known to host a few down-home concerts, weddings, birthdays and more!

There're all sorts of stuff that go on behind the scenes, and from now through the end of the harvest we intend to invite you backstage for a look-see. Backstage passes are free--just stop by this blog every week for your VIP tour. You might find a farm anecdote or two, or maybe a useful article on local food, or maybe even my aforementioned random musings on farm life. We welcome your questions, your comments, your (kind) criticisms and even your suggestions.

For the sake of good food we remain,

Your Farmers